Let me entertain you
NS December 5th, 2008
I’m sorry that I quoted a Robbie Williams song but I need your help so please don’t hold it against me.
I need ideas for relatively easy, cheap activities to do, mainly indoors, with a 2-3 year old. I’m trying to come up with a list of 100 or more so that I have at least one activity per day for the rest of winter. You see, I’ve gotten stuck into a rut with The Noble Child and need some fresh creativity. I’m afraid that the tv-watching I allowed her to do a lot of when I was heavily pregnant and when The Noble Baby was first born and needed constant feeding has turned her into a bit of a telly addict. There are times that she refuses to play or draw or do anything other than sulk about not getting to watch CBeebies or a favourite dvd. I know it’s my own fault for letting it get to this stage but I’m determined to turn it around.
When I was in my last trimester and pretty uncomfortable, I began allowing her to eat her breakfast at her little table in the living room instead of the dining room, watching cartoons as she ate her cereal. Not only has this wrecked the carpet but it has allowed me to become a lazy parent in the morning, letting tv babysit her while I wake up, make coffee, get dressed, eat breakfast, check email and surf the web. Then I started letting her watch a dvd every afternoon before Daddy gets home because I had either run out of steam or ideas. Then when TNB came along and I was stuck on the sofa breastfeeding for long stretches of time, I stopped fighting her requests to watch tv and just let her have at it. To be brutally honest, some days she was watching upwards of four hours of tv a day. Ouch. That is something I never thought I’d hear myself say as a parent.
Lately I’ve been getting sucked into the computer for longer and longer periods of time and not paying enough attention to my daughter, who in turn gets sucked into the tv. It’s a cycle that started with me and it will be a hard habit to break but I need to do it for both our sakes. I don’t want to be a zombie parent who ignores her while I attend to own selfish desires first and I certainly don’t want her to think that computers and tv are all that can entertain us. So I must start setting a good example and get my booty off the computer when she is awake. We need to start playing together again, connecting again.
This is where you come in. If you have any ideas for things we can do around the house (keeping in mind that our house is pretty small, we have only minimal disposable income and we’ll have a baby in tow all day as well) please leave them in comments. I’m also asking around my family and friends and when it’s all said and done I will produce the finished list here to give other parents of toddlers some inspiration if they’re looking for it.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
- Antics of The Noble Child , Parenting 101
- Comments(18)
Baking is one of my favorite activities to do with my daughter, anything from muffins, cupcakes, cookies, bread, etc. I give her her own bowl and mixing tools and a little bit of all the ingredients. She LOVES to mix it and transfer it from bowl to bowl. She even kneads bread dough for me, haha! It sure makes a mess but it’s worth it because it keeps us both busy and results in something delicious.
I also like to try crafts beyond the regular old crayons or paint, like playing with wool roving and felting it in warm soapy water, or playing with glue and some dried legumes or beans. I wish I had the energy to do something new like that every day. We have accumulated tons of craft books from thrift stores with loads of ideas. Tomorrow we’re going to try covering pine cones in peanut butter, rolling it in bird food and stringing them to a tree outside for the birds, then watching hehe.
Or I let her clean with me, but make it an outrageous time, like make a big bucket of warm soapy water and get some sponges and jump in!
It’s also fun to try to get outside as much as we can, even when it’s cold or snowy, and even if it’s just the backyard. I always think she’ll get bored or too cold but there’s always something to see or do. And our back yard is TIIINY!
I’m also going to try to get out more now that it’s winter, just for a change of scenery because we get feeling cooped up here… I plan to go check out the children’s museum, and we have a blast at a huge local aquarium and pet store which we haven’t been to for a while. There’s lots of fish to look at, as well as reptiles, birds, and even a shark. Plus, it’s free as long as you don’t buy anything haha.
And then there’s the obligatory nature walks. I’m going to try to really make a habit of still going in the winter, maybe pack some hot cocoa and cookies to keep us warm.
Hope that gives you some ideas!
Richard Scarry’s Rainy day book. Kept all three of us busy as kids for days on end (and probably saved my mother’s sanity!)
ooops, just checked and it might be a bit advanced for her… ages 4 – 8
I know you said you have limited space/money but just thought I throw it out there….earlier in the year we bought Audrey a play kitchen and she *LOVES* it. She will happily play by herself or will often “invite” me to come and cook or eat with her. I think she’s too little to actually help me bake so its always nice to just play bake. She has all sorts of fake food, pots/pans and dishes….so its pretty fun. The kitchen is pretty small and easy to clean….and you can probably find some that are pretty cheap or on Freecycle.
Another two toys that have been well worth their money are a small Dora the Explorer tent and a Magna Doodle.
We often get in the tent together and read a book or with some colors and coloring books. We play hide & seek with it as well…..although she *knows* I’m there she always gets a kick out of “finding” me. She loves that thing.
With the Magna Doodle she has tons of fun just scribbling. The way I get involved is that I’ll draw something for her and ask her to tell me what it is. My drawing sucks but she doesn’t complain and in the process has gotten pretty good at naming the stuff I draw correctly. Lately I write numbers so that she can learn them…so far she knows how to count 1-5 correctly and she recognizes them at times too! Its mess free and you can use it over and over again.
Those are the 3 things in the house that *always* get used on a daily basis. Mind you Audrey is 21 months old….so maybe they won’t work as well on Amelia. Hope that helps a bit.
Oh also! Music is a fantastic way to entertain. Usually I’ll put on some dance music and get up and jump around with Audrey. She will usually laugh her behind off just looking at me trying to “dance” but she gets into it as well. I like to think of it as exercise for me and getting DD tired….although she just thinks its fun jumping, twirling and shaking her groove thing. And after all the so called dancing we do if I’m lucky she’ll sit still for a couple of minutes. LOL
Good luck with your list!
Now is a great time to let TNC make a festive paper chain. Use red & green construction paper cut into strips and the tape that dispenses in individual pieces to make it easier for her to handle (or you can tear off pieces for her). Then you can string it like garland on the stair rail. Bake sugar cookies and let her decorate them with icing and sprinkles. Get a roll of brown craft paper and let her decorate it with crayons and stickers then wrap a gift with it. She could roll meatballs for spaghetti. Take a few canned or boxed food items and let her play grocery. Face paint and dress-ups is always a good time. Give her colorful tissue paper and have her tear it into pieces, then let her use a glue stick to paste them to a cardboard box or paper bag.
Great ideas, keep ‘em coming!
Oh, I was just looking in my book mark and came across this site:
http://fun.familyeducation.com/early-learning/family-learning/33372.html
There’s a section all on activities to do indoors:
http://fun.familyeducation.com/hobbies-and-interests/games/33380.html?detoured=1
I love it!
Oh, sorry I keep leaving a million comments but I also forgot to mention what fun Maaike has cutting up magazines with me… I like to flip through magazines and find pictures that I like, for example interior design or gardens, and paste them into a special book. And I’ll give Maaike some child scissors and let her have an old magazine, too. I do this with a lot of the crafts I do and try to include her. For example I also pick up some cheap yarns at thrift stores, and I have a huuuge pair of knitting needles, and when I knit I let her try to copy me with her own materials.
You can play “The Mystery Picture.” You both pick a theme for a drawing (underwater scene, farm, the woods, etc.). Then, you sit away from each other where you can’t see what the other person is drawing and take turns listing appropriate things for that scene that you can draw (e.g. You might say, “The farm has a barn,” and then she might say, “The farm has a horse.” So you both draw a barn and a horse. Eventually, you both have a whole scene drawn, at which point, you show your pictures to each other and marvel at how very different they are. This is a game that she will actually be able to “grow up with,” and that she and her little brother and friends can play together in the future. I played it with siblings and friends until we were all teenagers. Half the fun at her age is the “keeping a secret” part, not letting each other see what you’re drawing (although with the brief attention span, it doesn’t get as elaborate and creative, as it will, if she’s still playing it at age 12).
You can also play “Which holds more?” You can get different sized cups and a measuring cup, and let her guess which cups she thinks might hold more water (it works best if you have some tall skinny cups and some short, squat cups that actually might hold the same amount, to get her thinking that maybe “taller” doesn’t always mean “more”). Then you fill each cup up with water and pour it into the measuring cup, explaining to her that the measuring cup is what tells how much water there actually is. It doesn’t matter whether she is right or wrong, the fun is in the guessing at that age, and you can do it with other containers (and dry ingredients like rice or beans) as well. The guessing is fun for her, and it’s a great way to set a foundation for learning about measurement and what “more” and “less” mean.
Oh, and don’t forget: building “forts” or “houses” or “tents” over chairs and under tables with blankets and pillows and open umbrellas, is also always fun.
And don’t forget treasure hunts. You can hide simple clues all over the house that tell her where the next clue is (5-6 clues is a good number for her age. And, of course, make them very simple, so she doesn’t get frustrated, like, if you hide one around the bathroom sink, the clue can read something like, “Where Daddy shaves his face.” The “treasure” can be anything from a candy bar to a cupcake to a coloring book to a favorite toy (even her favorite DVD to watch, once you’re back into a rhythm in which she’s watching less TV). This one can also be played as she gets older with more difficult clues.
Can you tell I love playing with young children?
We color together a lot. C loves her coloring books and crayons. We have (washable) markers as well, and I’m planning to get a little cheapy set of stamps and ink pads as well. If you can get your hands on a set of assorted beads (or heck, some macaroni) and some yarn, you can make some fabulous jewelry together. C has just started experimenting with glue at preschool, and she’s very proud of her “rectangles glued to paper” artwork.
I’m thinking we’re going to make a macaroni wreath this weekend. I’m just going to cut a circle out of paper and let her glue macaroni to it, and then she can paint it.
One of the really great things they have at C’s preschool (which is a Montessori-style preschool, so it’s all play-based discovery learning stuff) is a sand/water table. They’ll put water in it with a little squeeze of soap so it has some bubbles, and they’ll put things in it like rocks, toy boats, plastic spoons and measuring jugs. Or they’ll put sand in it and hide things in the sand, like rocks and fake gemstones and little toys and whatnot. The kids love it. If you’re anything like me, a proper sand/water table is a bit of a luxury, but I think you could easily do it with a wash basin.
Or put some warm soapy water in a wash basin and let her wash dishes (and make a big mess with the water, which is the fun part).
Still thinking…this list is helping me, too!
Since we don’t have a TV at the moment, it’s something I have not had the chance to get into the habit of using with my almost 2 year old.
Usually when it get’s to the late afternoon stage where i’m bored and she’s bored, I call into my next door neighbour’s house for tea. I know i’m lucky that i have some amazing neighbours here who are happy to have people like me walk in. Even if she’s busy cooking supper i’m happy to just sit and chat to her while iona explores her new surroundings.
Now i know you may not have that kind of neighbour but the whole “change of scenery” thing is the key. It requires little creativity and energy…(unless you decide you’re going for a walk…which is a good idea too) and it is such a breath of fresh air!
Just a few things off the top of my head.
Make a squirrel feeder from a couple old 2×4 pieces. Make it L shaped and run a long screw from the bottom side of the L, extending it all the way thru the middle of this board. Then daily you two can put a new ear of corn on the screw. You can attach it to a tree or attach a rope to it and mount it over a fence post. Once a squirrel starts showing up, it is really entertaining to watch them eat, even when it is raining (they will use their tail like an umbrella).
Vanilla wafers and a tub of icing. Mix amounts of icing in cups and blend each with different colors of food coloring. She can ice these cookies, she can also make “sandwiches” out of them. (Just watch the sugar rush).
Dress-ups are always fun. Old stuff around the house or from thrift shops. You can get a storage tote to keep them in. Tutu’s, hats, long gloves, slippers, some of your old short dresses, etc. You can make foil crowns and magic wands out of foil and cardboard. She can play, act, sing and get applause from her audience.
If she is good with colors, you can play riddley-ree.
This may come in handy if you need to entertain her when you are nursing. In case you don’t remember the game, it goes like this. “Riddley, riddley, ree; I see something you don’t see, and the color of it is ____”
Name the color and see if she can guess what item you are looking at. When she gets it, then it becomes her turn to recite the rhyme and let you try to guess.
you can also make sock puppets. use socks and cut felt eyes, noses, mouths, etc. Glue them to the socks and have puppet shows.
I’ll look forward to the list, as I struggle with these things too, particularly the computer. We’ve started doing little art things – finger painting and markers. Music is fun too, we have some toy instruments that Zach loves to bang along too. Kids have a great sense of rhythm, so I play music that I like and we sing and bang along. Thank god that summer is coming in Oz, because that makes things much easier. I’m looking for more things to do OUT of the house, but having lived in the UK for four years, I know that your housebound a lot more than I am. Good luck!
Crickey! I’m so impressed with all the stuff other people do. I just mostly clean house (ie, clean up after them!) and they just mostly play together and make messes. It’s a system… It works…!
All I can suggest is time, because in about 12 months, they are going to be playing together and totally entertaining themselves in their own wonderful two-some-ness. And you will just melt watching it!
Wow! Such great ideas! I’m going to have to knick a few!
I’ve started a new crafty baby tag, so there are a few ideas on my blog but they are kinda messy…maybe best to attempt when the new baby is asleep?
I think it’s really great you’re doing this!
There are a ton of great suggestions here and I only have one, but here it is:
Go for a “swim”. Zoe used to love to “go for a swim” in the bathtub during winter. She put her bathing suit on and would go around the house gathering things to “swim” with. It was great because I could just sit there and chat with her while she was in the tub and I would get bath time out of the way.
Make and keep a seasonal table. A table spread with a pretty table cloth on which you keep items representing the season. Every time you go out on a nature walk you pick something up to put on the table. Gives you a great excuse to get out of the house on a walk.
Astronomy. Nights are drawing in and you can start to see the stars from about five or six o’clock. Moonwatching’s fun too.
Bathtime. Just that, bathtime. Lots of plastic cups / jugs in the bath. TNB can nurse skin to skin in the bath while TNC plays.
And you know, CBeebies isn’t the end of the world. At least it’s age-appropriate and no adverts!